Algae Biosciences Corporation – one of several high-profile new entrants to the algal omega-3 fatty acids market – hopes to be in a position to supply commercial quantities of EPA/DHA-rich oil by April.

A spokesman told NutraIngredients-usa that bosses at the Canadian firm had originally aimed for a January launch but had made the decision to seek additional qualified bids for the expansion of their new facility near Holbrook in Arizona and re-visit the design and construction of its bioreactors.

Lower operating costs

He said: “The result is that the company is able to save more than $300,000 on the bioreactors, include more bioreactors on the existing floor plan, and reduce operating costs by 15%.

“The reviews undertaken have extended the project completion by three months. Management determined that the savings and enhancements were a sound trade-off for the resulting delay in the project.”

AlgaeBio claims its production site creates “near perfect” growing conditions for microalgae because it sits above an underground salt dome that interacts with the Coconino Aquifer - a vast underground sea - to produce “pristine” saline groundwater.

Algal ingredients market set for shake up this year

AlgaeBio is one of several firms promising to shake up the algal ingredients market this year.

Other movers and shakers in this space include Aurora Algae, which is poised to enter the market with an EPA-rich oil in Q4, 2012; BioProcess Algae, which grows microalgae on biofilms fed with waste heat and carbon dioxide from co-located ethanol production facilities; Renewable Algal Energy (RAE), which will be able to supply commercial quantities of its algal oils and proteins by Q3 2012, and Solazyme Roquette Nutritionals (SRN), which is promising to launch commercial quantities of whole ‘algalin flour’ that could be used as a fat replacer shortly.

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Algae Biosciences Corporation – one of several high-profile new entrants to the algal omega-3 fatty acids market – hopes to be in a position to supply commercial quantities of EPA/DHA-rich oil by April.